Packing for piston-rods



Patented Mar. 28, I899. L. HOPKINS. PACKING FOR PISTON RODS.

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Inventor Wz'nesaea UNITED STATES PATENT, Prion.

LESLIE HOPKINS, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

PACKING FOR PISTON-RODS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,817, dated March 28, 1899.

Application filed April 27, 1898. Serial No. 679,028. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known thatI, LESLIE HOPKINS,'aGltizen of the United States, and a resident of Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Packings for Piston-Rods; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object, primarily, a packing of a composite nature for the stuffing-box of an engine and in which the component parts are more effectually thrown upon the piston-rod, and, second, to prevent the escape of steam around the packing.

My invention consists in the novel component parts of the packingand their assemblage in the stuffing-box, as hereinafter fully described, and specifically pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of the stuffing-box of the steam-cylinder of an engine and of the gland secured thereto, showing a portion of the piston-rod in the stuffing-box and my improved packing applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a view in section of the improved packing as seen in Fig. 1 removed from the stuffing-box and without the yielding core. Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the concentric non-yielding parts of the packing with opposite and obliquely inclined bearing-surfaces in alternate position to that seen in Fig. 2'. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the packing as seen in Fig. 2, showing the exterior movable telescopic ring around the packing-case.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the stufting-box,which is annexed to and usually forms a part of the outer side portion of the-cylinder-head A of an engine.

a is the opening in the cylinder-head A, and B is the piston-rod,extendin g through said opening and also through the circular space or chamber 0. within the stufling-box, in which space between the side of the chamber a and the surface of the piston-rod B is vplane as that of the shoulder 0 placed the improved packing, as hereinafter described.

In the bottom a of the chamber a and extending around the piston-rod B in a close relation is a ring 0', in the lower surface of which ring is an annular recess or groove 0, in

which groove is a rubber gasket 0, which gas-" ket also rests upon the bottom a of the chamlar opening 0 which is slightly larger in circumference than the piston-rod B. The inner side of the portion a of case 0, extend ing from the head 0 downwardly a short distance in the direction of the other end of said portion of the case, is made of an increased thickness to sustain the compression herein-' inafter described, thereby forming a shoulder 0", which shoulder is beveled or inclined at an angle to the side of the portion 0 and in the. direction of the head of said case. WVithin the upper portion 0 of case 0 is a concentric ring 0 the upper surface of which ringfits against the inner side portion of the head 0 and the sides of the opening in said ring are fitted snugly tothe circumference of the piston-rod B. The lower surface of the ring a is beveled or inclined in the same The ring 0 is composed, preferably, of Babbitt or soft composition metal and from one of the non; yielding or metallic parts of the packing which is brought into contact with the piston-rod B. The lower part c of the packing O is short in length, the sides, including the head portion 0 being nearly of the same thickness as described of the upper portion of the part c of said shell. The head 0 of the part c is also provided with a circular I IOO surface c of the ring 0, thus forming a tight joint. The upper edge portion of the part c is beveled or inclined at an angle to the side of said part c and in the direction of the said head a \Vithin the part c of the packing 0 is a concentric ring 0 the inner surface of which ring fits snugly against the inner side portion of the head a the outer edge portion being beveled at c in the same plane as the inclined portion of the upper edge portion of the side ofthe part c of the shell C. Vithin the non-yielding parts 0 c of the packing O is the yielding core 0 which is formed of a textile fabric, or preferably of rope, as shown, in separate layers, the layer next to the inner side of the part c of the shell or case C being braided cord, preferably flax, and the next layer of the same material, and the layer next to the pistonrod is composed of like material, which is coiled around the piston-rod, the rope extending from the beveled shoulder of the Babbitt or composition metal and from the inclined portion of the upper part c of the case 0 to the inclined shoulder formed by the ring 0 and the inclined upper end of the part c of said case O. Upon the upper surface of the head 0 of the part c of the case 0 is an annular ring 0 the lower surface of which ring is smooth. On the outer end portion of the stuffing-box A is a laterally-extended circular flange a C is the gland for holding the packing placed around the piston-rod in the chamber a of the stuffing-box and which gland consists of a close-fitting concentric sleeve D, extending around said piston-rod, one end thereof being within the opening a of said stuffing-box and contacting with the upper or outersurface of the ring 0". Upon the other end of said gland is an outwardly-extended annular flange d.

In the flange (l is an opening (1, and in the flange a is an opening a, which openings register one with the other. In the registering openings a and d is a screw-threaded bolt (P, which is provided with a head (Z at one end, which is upon the under side portion of the flange a and a nut (1 upon the screwthreaded end portion of said bolt, which nut bears upon the outer side portion of the flange (l of the gland D. Other openings are made in the flanges a and (l in the same manner as the openings (1 and d and provided with a bolt and nut in like manner. Between the nut d and the flange (Z of the gland D is a spiral spring (Z Upon the gland D being forced within the chamber a of the stuffingbox, which is accomplished by the turning of the clamping-nuts (1* upon the flanges d and d compression in greater or less degree is brought upon the ring c and the separate parts 0 c of the packing 0 within the chamber a of the stuffing-box, and the upper part c of the packing-case C yields,and the telescopic part c is forced toward the core 0 and the opposing heads of the separate parts 0 c of said case are moved toward each other,

the yielding packing or core 0" being forced by the shoulders c c and 0 0 within a smaller compass and directly upon the surface of the piston-rod B.

The tendency of the piston-rod to lateral movement in the stuffing-box A causes the packing C to bind upon the piston-rod from the action of thegland D, and this movement of the heads 0 and c of the respective parts 0 c of the packing-case C, with the pistonrod B, is upon the close-fitting surface of the upper portion of the ring C, with which it forms a close joint in one direction and the under surface of the ring 0 in the other direction, and which the head 0 moves smoothly,

and the packing 0 follows the movements of the piston-rod and moves over those surfaces of the rings 0 and 0 preventing the steam from passing the joint' and finding an escape between the joints of the Babbitt or composite metal and the core of the case 0', which ordinarily prevents the close adhesion of the packing to the piston-rod. The ring 0, with its gasket 0, effectually prevents the passage of the steam past the said ring and in rear of the packing 0, thereby saving the destruction of the packing, which frequently occurs by being blown out by the steam, and the consequent renewal of the packing.

The great expense of renewing the packing in the stuffing-box so as to obtain the best results from the expansion of the steam and therefore economy in the cost of running an engine I save in the application of my improved packing, its practical application saving all of the annoyances of frequent renewals and saving the loss of steam.

Instead of forming one cylindrical part c of the case 0 integral with the head a both upper and lower parts of the case 0 may be formed as described of the lower part as seen in Fig. 4, in which 6 represents one portion of the packing and e the other portion, around which portions extend a ring or sleeve E, which of course admits the employment of sleeves of different lengths to accommodate the depth of the stuffing-box, the yielding packing being inserted when the nonyielding parts are arranged in the stuffingbox, the usual manner of which is to detach the piston-rod from the connections and slide each part of the packing over the rod to its place in the stuffing-box.

I11 Fig. 3 I have shown the parts of the packing nearly the same as in Fig. 1, the Babbitt or composite metalpacking F, however, in this instance being given a longer inclined bearing-surface upon the portion of the inner inclined edges of the sides, which lessens the angles described by the ring 0 in Fig. 1 and a joint much more easily made. The spring (1 to the gland D keeps a constant tension on the opposing faces of the grooved joints.

Having fully described my invention, what I now claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A composite packing for stutfing boxes,

Its

comprising a packing-case, having separate parts, and sides to each part, adapted to telescope with each other, and separate heads to each part, having openings for the passage of the piston-rod, a yielding core Within said base, and an annular metallic packing in each part of said. case, said inner side portion of each case and the said metallic packing having inclined shoulders in the same inclined plane, adapted to bear upon the said yielding to core of said packing as described.

LESLIE HOPKINS.

Witnesses:

JAMES W. MoKARNnY, A. L. GREEK. 

